Apparatus for skidding logs



5 Sheets Sheet.

(No.Model.)

W. BAPTIST.

APPARATUS FOR SKIDDING LOGS.

No. 561,855. Patented June 9, 1896,

' Since/M01,

Wdweaoeo AN DREW B GRAHAM. PHOTO-LUNG. WASHINGTON QC 5 T S I m D A BAPPARATUS FOR SKIDDING LOGS.

' Patented June 9, 1896.

Wan mom (No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 3,

W. BAPTIST. APPARATUS FOR SKIDDING LOGS.

No. 561,855. PatentedJune 9, 1895.

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(No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 W. BAPTIST. APPARATUS FOR SKIDDING LOGS.

No. 561,855. Patented June 9, 1896.

FIG- 4 (No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 5. W. BAPTIST.

APPARATUS FOR SKIDDING LOGS.

Patented June 9-, 1896.

%mmg xi A, l I I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM BAPTIST, ()F LUTGIIER, LOUISIANA.

APPARATUS FOR SKIDDING LOGS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 561,855, dated June 9,1896.

Application filed February 10, 1896. Serial No. 578,750. (No model.)

To all whom, it ntay concern.-

lie it known that I, WILLIAM BAPTIST, a citizen of the United States,residing at Lutcher, in the parish of St. James and State of Louisiana,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus forSkidding Logs; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

My invention relates to skidding-engines and cableway systems forhandling logs; and it consists of certain novel features hereinafterdescribed.

Reference is had to the accompanying drawin gs, wherein the same partsare indicated by the same letters and figures throughout the severalviews.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a log-skidding system constructed inaccordance with my invention, the position of the engine and drums beingshown by a conventional representation of the engine only. Fig. 2 is aplan view of the engine and drums. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of thesame. Fig. 4 represents a diagram of the gearing of the same. Fig. 5 isa view of the central longitudinal section of one of the shafts and theclutch-operating mechanism. Fig. is a sectional view of the same, takenon the line 6 6 of Fig. 5. Fig. '7 represents a side elevation of one ofthe band friction-brakes used upon the drums. Fig. 8 is a detail view ofa swivel-joint on the main hauling-cable, and Fig. represents anelevation of the pulley-block on the spar-tree designed for the saidswivel-joint to pass through. Fig. 10 represents a detail side elevationof the stop on the main cable, and Fig. 11. represents a detail frontelevation of the same detached from the cable. Fig. 12 represents adetail view of a detachable coupling, core, and tongs, such as are usedfor hauling logs from behind the tail-tree, showing the same attached tothe end of a log. Fig. 13 is a plan view of the detachable coupling.Fig. 1% represents a longitudinal section of the two members of thecoupling de tached. Fig. 15 represents an end elevation of one member ofthe coupling, and Fig. 16 is a similar view of the other member.

Referring now more particularly to Fig. 1,

A designates the head or spar tree, held steady bysuitable guy-ropes a,and I; designates the tail-tree, also held by suitable guy-ropes b.

The main cable C- is secured to the tail-tree and extended back of thesaid tail-tree, as at C and is anchored in any suitable manner. Theforward end of the said main cable (1 passes through a pulley-block 0secured to the head-tree A, and extends to a suitable anchoring device,as C, a block and tackle or other tightening device being provided, asat 0 The carriage M is mounted upon the grooved wheels m, which travelon the main cable 0. The said carriage is provided with a clevis m atthe lower end of its frame, to which clevis are attached two or morepulleyblocks (f.

The main hauling-cable Q has a swivelcoupling q attached to its end, andto this coupling q are attached the two haulingropes Q. and the outhaulQ for pulling out the slack. The main cable Q passes through awidepulley-block q (shown in detail in Fig. 9) and down to the hauling-drumR of the engine. The pulley g has a wide sheave grooved around thecenter, as at q, and provided with side flanges (f. The block is madelarge to allow a sufficiently large opening q over the sheave to allowthe coupling g to pass through the block when it is necessary to drawthe logs very close to the head-tree.

The rope Q from the coupling q passes round a sheave M in the frame ofthe car riage M and then through a pulley-block q, attached to thehead-tree, and is secured to the drum S on the engine.

The main outhaul N is secured to the carriage at n and passes backthrough a pulleyblock n, secured to the tail-tree, then throughfair-leaders m on the frame of the carriage M, and through apulley-block n to the drum P on the engine.

To the ends of the ropes Q are attached the tongs g, which, when thecarriage has been run out by the outhaul, are connected to the logs tobe hauled in. The main hauling-rope is then wound in by the drum R, andthe drum P of the outhaul is held from unwinding the said rope until theends of the logs have been raised from the ground, as shown in Fig. 1.The two drums are then geared together so that the inhaul-rope Q willwind in a Very little faster than the outhaul-rope N will unwind. Thusas the carriage becomes lower by reason of the sag in the main cable theends of the logs will be held at approximately the same height from theground. As the carriage ascends the main cable nearing the head-tree theclutch on the outhaul-rope drum P is loosened sufficiently to allowthesaid drum to slip a little and thus keep the ends of the logs from beingelevated too high as they approach the head-tree. The gearing andclutches to accomplish this result will be hereinafter described inconnection with the engine.

A track Y is laid out to the head-tree and a rope D extends fromv thehead-tree over the said track, and is secured to any suitable place (as,for instance, a stump (Z) to keep it taut. A sliding block D is placedon the rope D and held in the proper position by the ropes d. Theloading-rope E passes through a pulley-block d secured to the end of theblock D,and through the pulley-block e on the head tree to one of theloading-drums F of the engine. This loading-rope E carries the tongs Eat its outer end and is used'to lift the logs upon the cars after theyhave been hauled up to the hcad-tree.

The main cable 0 has a coupling 0 near the head-tree,secured to which isa stop 0. (Shown in detail in Figs. 10 and 11.) This stop 0 passes overthe coupling and is secured there to by a pin 0.

The engine (shown in Figs. 2 and 3)'has its several parts mounted uponthe base I, which may be placed upon a truck or. other suitable devicefor transportation and has the usual boiler G and a cylinder G on eachside, provided with the usual valve mechanism and connected to transmitrotary motion to a shaft K, mounted in suitable boxes on the base I.

The driven shaft K has a toothed pinion K on each end, which pinionsmesh with gear-wheels I1 oneach end of a shaft H, also mounted injournal-boxes on the base I. The several shafts f, 'r, p, and S of thedrums F, R, P, and S, respectively, are all journaled in boxes on thebase I, and the said drums are all loosely mounted on their respectiveshafts. The shaft f carries two loadingdrums F F, mounted one on eachside of a central gear-wheel F which latter is rigidly fixed to theshaft f, and has on each side an annular friction -ring 2, approximatelyV- shaped in cross-section and adapted to engage in correspondingannular grooves in the ends of the drums F F, thus forming africtionclutch when the drums are forced against the rings 2 of thegear-wheel. This frictionclutch and the means for operating the same areshown in detail in Fig. 5, which illustrates the clutch 011 the shaft w,but is a type of the clutches on all the shafts.

The end of the shaft is made hollow, as at 10, and is also slottedthrough from side to side, as at 20 XVithin this slot is arranged across-piece 4, which rests against the sliding member of the clutch. Arod 5 enters the hollow end of the shaft and is screwthreaded on itsouter end to engage corresponding screw-threads in a nut 7, securedoutside of the journal-box of each shaft. By turning the rod 5 by meansof a suitable handle the said rod may be screwed down upon thecross-piece 4 and thus force the sliding member of the clutch againstthe fixed member.

The loading-drums F F are forced into ongagement with the friction-ring2 on the gearwheel F by means of the handles F, one for each drum, andthe gear-wl1eel T is driven by a pinion H on the shaft I l.

A pinion H 011 the shaft 11 meshes with and drives a gear-wheel R on theshaft 0'', and is provided with a frictionring 2 to engage in acorresponding annular groove in the end of the inhauldrum R, which isloosely mounted upon the shaft r This drum is arranged to be forcedagainst the friction-ring 2 on the gear-wheel R' by means of thecross-piece l and rod 5, operated by the handle R The gear-wheel Rmeshes with the pinion X on a short shaft X, projecting inward from oneside of the base I, and this pinion X in turn meshes with a pinion P onthe shaft 19 and also with a gear-wheel V on the shaft to, by whichmeans both the shafts p and w are rotated in the same direction.

On the opposite end of the shaft 20 is a friction-clutch XV, one member\V of which is loosely mounted on the shaft, but held from longitudinalmovement along the shaft by the collars w and w. This member carries apinion TV, meshing with a gear-wheel P on the end of the outhaul-drumRand also has a surface 10 for the bandbrake ii. The other member l ofthe clutch \V has a friction-surface w and the friction-ring 2 to engagein a corresponding groove 3 in the member when the two members arepressed together. The member is mounted on the shaft 20 by a feather-key20 so as to ro tat-e with the shaft, but to slide freely thereon, andthe cross-piece 4, rod 5, and handle \V are the means for forcing thetwo members of the clutch together.

The drums F F and R are provided with friction band-brakes F and Rrespectively, connected with the shafts F and R which latter have ontheir ends treadles F and R, arranged so that downward pressure on thesaid treadles will cause the band-brakes to tighten and thus hold therollers. A similar band-brake is placed on the member X 72 of thefriction-clutch \V on the shaft 10 and connected to a shaft w, which isoperated by a treadle V and as this member is geared to the drum Pthrough the pinion \V" and the gear-wheel P the band-brake lV" serves tohold the drum P.

The shaft S, carrying the drum S, is mounted at one endin aneccentric-box s, and has secured thereto, near the said eccentric-box, afriction pulley S Byturniug the eccentricbox 8 by the handle S the saidfriction-pulley may be pressed against the friction-surface 10 to impartmotion to the shaft S and drum S.

Z designates a rod supported in suitable bearings 1', above the base Iof the engine, and extending into a valve g. This rod is bent at rightangles at its end to form a handle .2, and also provided at suitablepoints along its length with handles .e". By turning the rod Z the valveg may be closed to shut oif the steam and stop the engine in case of anemergency.

The operation of the invention is as follows: The carriage is carriedout on the main cable by the outhaul Nbein g wound upon the drum P,which drum is caused to rotate by being forced upon the friction-ring 2of the pinion P as hereinbefore described, (the engine being in motion,)the drum R being allowed to rotate to pay off the inhaul Q. lVhen thecarriage has reached the desired position, the drum P is released fromthe pinion P and the friction-pulley S of the drum S is brought againstthe friction-surface w of the clutch \V to rotate the said drum S andwind up the rope (2*, which will pull out the main inhaulrope Q untilthe tongs can be carried to the logs and secured thereto. The drum R isthen forced upon the friction-ring 2 of the gear-wheel R to rotate thesaid drum and wind up the inhaul. When the inhaul begins to pull uponthe logs, the drum I is held from rotation by the application of theband-brake V to the member \V of the friction-clutch XV, which is gearedby its pinion V to the gearwheel P of the drum P. This prevents therunning out of the outhaul, and holds the carriage until the ends of thelogs have been raised above the ground, as shown in Fig. 1, at whichtime the member W is forced upon the friction-ring 2 of the member ofthe clutch XV, and at the same time the bandbrake is released therefrom,thus leaving the drum P geared to the drum B through the shaft 21;,gear-wheel XV, pinion X, and gearwheel R". The sizes of the gear-wheelsare so proportioned that as the drum R winds up the inhaul-rope the drumP will pay out the outhaul-rope a very little slower than theinhaul-rope is wound in, thus elevating the ends of the logs a littlemore as they travel toward the head-tree. This will keep the ends of thelegs at approximately the same height from the ground as the carriagetravels toward the middle of the main cable, where the sag is greatest.As the carriage proceeds toward the head-tree, where the cable is higherand the ends of the logs become too high, the friction-clutch \V isslightly loosened to allow the clutch to slip a little, and thus keepthe ends of the logs at the right height to allow the logs to slidefreely over obstructions. \Yhen the logs have been brought near enoughto the head-tree, the tongs g are released and the operation isrepeated.

lVhen it is desired to draw up logs some distance behind the tail-tree,one or more ropes, as T in Fig. 1, may be secured to the carriage, as att, and passed over pulley-blocks t on the tail-tree. These ropes havethe usual tongs secured to their ends by the couplings V, which areshown in detail in Figs. 12 to 16.

The coupling V is composed of two members V and V both of which arebored out to receive the ends of the cables or ropes T, which aresecured therein in any suitable manner. The member V is provided with ahead or button '0 connected to the body by a neck or stem or, and themember V is recessed, as at t to receive the head 42 and is providedwith a smaller aperture 0 through its end to receive the neck '0. Bothof the openings U0 and o open through one side of the member V of thecoupling, and the opening t is provided on the open side with a shouldero Thus it will be seen that the head 0 of one member may be insertedfrom the side in the recess "U0 of the other member, the neck t" passinginto the aperture t", and the head when it is all the wayin restingunder the shoulder r. This coupling V is secure while there is a pull onthe cable, but may be readily detached by first pulling the two memberstogether and then lifting the head '0 out.

To prevent the two members from being accidentally shaken apart, aspring 2: is inserted in the recess o to press the head 1- under theshoulder '1 and thus make the coupling more secure.

In practice a steel cone U is slipped over the tongs and ends of thelogs when the cables T are used, to enable the logs to be more easilydrawn over obstructions on the ground.

By use of the cables T logs may be drawn from twice the distancepossible by use of the system between the head and tail trees only, aswhen the carriage is run out the cables T may be carried back as farbehind the tailtree as the carriage travels from the headtree, and twolegs may be hauled up to the tail-tree ready to be taken by the ropes Q,at the same time that two other logs are being hauled to the head-treeby the ropes Q, thus effecting a great saving of time and labor.

The logs after being drawn to the headtree are loaded upon the car ortruck (not shown) upon the railway Y by means of the loading-rope E,which is guided by the block D and is wound upon the loading-drum F ofthe engine.

It will be obvious that various modifications in the herein-describedapparatus might be made which could be used without departing from thespirit of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination with aninhaul-rope, and an outhaul-rope for hauling out the carriage, of acarriage, an inhaul-rope drum, an outhaul-rope drum, gearing driven bythe source of power connected with said inhaulrope drum, and twofriction-clutches interposed between said outhaul-rope drum and saidgearing, said friction-clutches being respectively adapted to drive saidouthaul-rope drum in opposite directions, substantially as described.

2. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination with aninhanl-rope, and an outhaul-rope for hauling out the carriage, of acarriage, an inhaul-rope drum, an outhaul-rope-drum gearing driven bythe source of power and connected with said inhaul-rope drum, twofriction-clutches interposed between said outhaul-rope drum and saidgearing, said friction-clutches being respectively adapted to drive saidouthaul-rope drum in opposite directions, and means for causing saidouthaul-drum to move at a slower circumferential speed than saidinhaul-drum, substantially as described.

3. In a log-skidding system, the combination with a head and tail treeorsupport, of a cable extending from one of said'supports to the other,and a carriage adapted to travel 011 the said cable; an inhaul-rope,passing through pulleys on the said carriage and having tongs to graspthe logs, an outhaul-rope connected to the said carriage, and passingaround a pulley on the tail tree or support and then to the head tree orsupport, a drum to which the inhaul-rope is attached, and a drum towhich the outhaul-rope is attached, the said drums being mounted looselyon their shafts, clutches to clutch the drums to their shafts, a shaftparallel with the outhaul-ropedrum shaft and driven in the oppositedirection thereto, a clutch and gearing to gear the outhaul-rope drum,to the latter shaft, and means for driving the shafts, substantially asdescribed.

4. In a log-skidding system, the combination with a head and tail treeor support, of a cable extending from one of said supports to the other,and .a carriage adapted to travel on the said cable; of an inhaul-ropepassing through pulleys 011 the said carriage and having tongs to graspthe logs, an outhaul-rope connected to the said carriage, and passingaround a pulley on the tail tree or support and then to the head tree orsupport, adrum to whichthe inhaul-rope is attached, and a drum to whichthe outhaul-rope is attached, a shaft 0* on which the inhaul-drum isloosely mounted, a shaft 19 on which the outhauldrum is loosely mounted,and a shaft to, parallel to the said shafts, a train of gearingconnecting the three shafts, clutches to clutch the drums R and P totheir respective shafts to make them turn therewith, means for clutchingthe drum P to the shaft to to reverse the movement of the said drum, andmeans for driving the shafts, substantially as described.

5. In a log-skidding system, the combina tion with a head and tail treeor support, of a cable extending from one of said supports to the other,and a carriage adapted to travel on the said cable, an inhaul-rope,passing through pulleys on the said carriage with means for grasping thelogs, an outhanl-rope connected to-the said carriage, and passing arounda pulley on the tail tree or support, and then to the head tree orsupport, a drum to which the inhaul-rope is attached, and a drum towhich the outhaul-rope is attached, a shaft r'on which the inhaul-drumis loosely mounted, a shaft 19 onwhich the outhaul-drum is looselymounted, and a shaft 10, parallel to the said shafts, a train of gearingconnecting the three shafts, clutches to clutch the drums R and P totheir respective shafts to make them turn therewith, a clutch on theshaft '20, the loose member of which is geared to the drum P, afriction-brake to hold the loose member of the clutch, means for forcingthe fast member against the loose member of the clutch, and means fordriving the shafts, substantially as described.

6. In a logskidding system, the combination with a cableway, a carriageto travel on said cableway, an inhaul-rope passing through a pulley onthe said carriage and means for grasping the logs, an outhaul-ropesecured to the carriage and passing over a pulley at the distant end ofthe cableway, and a rope Q to pull out slack in the inhaul-rope; andmeans for operating said ropes, substantially as described.

7. In a log-skidding system, the combination with a cableway, a carriagetraveling thereon, an inhaul-rope passing through a pulley on saidcarriage, and means for grasping the logs, an outhaul-rope secured tothe carriage and passing over a pulley at the distant end of thecableway, of an engine, a drum R for the inhaul-rope mounted looselyupon a shaft 0', a friction-brake R to control the drum R, a drum P forthe outhaul-rope mounted loosely 011 a shaft 1), a gear-wheel R upon theshaft 1* geared to the driving-shaft of the engine, a friction-clutch onthe gear-wheel R by which it may be clutched to the drum R, a shortshaft X having a pinion X thereon meshing with the gear-wheel R, apinion P on the shaft 1) meshing with the pinion X and having afriction-clutch to engage the drum P, a shaft 20 geared to the pinion X,a friction-clutch on the said shaft 10 provided with a loose membergeared to the drum P, a friction-brake on the said loose member of theclutch to hold the drum P, and means for operating the said clutches andbrakes to cause the drum P to wind up the outhaul-rope independently ofthe drum R, and to cause the drum R to wind up the inhaul-rope slightlyfaster than the drum P will pay off the outhaul-rope; substantially asdescribed.

8. In a log-skidding system, the combination with a cableway, a carriagetraveling thereon, an inhaul-rope passing through a pulley on saidcarriage, and means for grasping the logs, an outhaul-rope secured tothe carriage and passing over a pulley at the dis- IIO tant end of thecableway, and a rope Q to pull out slack in the inhaul-rope; of anengine, a drum for the inhaul-rope, a drum for the outhaul-rope, a drumS for the rope Q an eccentric journal-box and hand-lever for throwingsaid drum S into and out of operation, and means for rotating all ofsaid drums, substantially as described.

9. In a log-skidding system, the combination with a head and tail treeor support, of a cable extending from one of said supports to the other,and a carriage adapted to travel on the said cable; an inhaul-rope,passing through pulleys on the said carriage and provided with means forgrasping the logs, an outhaul-rope connected to the said carriage, andpassing round apulley on the tail tree or support, and then to the headtree or support, a drum to which the inhaul-rope is attached, means foroperating said drums, and ropes T connected to said carriage and leadingbeyond the tail-tree, substantially as de scribed.

10. In a log-skidding system, the combination with a head and tail treeor support, of a cable extending from one of said supports to the other,and a carriage adapted to travel on the said cable; an inhaul-rope,passing through pulleys on the said carriage and having tongs to graspthe logs, an outhaul-rope connected to the said carriage, and passinground a pulley on the tail tree or support,

and then to the head tree or support, a drum to which the inhaul-rope isattached, means for operating said drums, a pulley t on the tail-tree, arope T secured at one end to the carriage and passing over said pulley,and tongs at the other end of said rope, substantially as described.

11. In a system of the character described, a rope-coupling consistingof two members secured to the opposing ends of the rope, a head and areduced stem upon one member, the other member having a recess for thehead and a slot for the stem and means for retaining the head in place,substantially as described.

12. In a system of the character described, a coupling consisting of twomembers secured to the opposing ends of the rope, a head and a stem uponone member; the other member having a recess somewhat longer than thesaid head and stem and adapted to receive the head, and a slot for thestem, a shoulder near the end of said recess to retain the head, andaspring tending to press the head heneath the shoulder, substantially asdescribed.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

IVILLIAM BAPTIST. Witnesses:

RUFUS E. FosTER, WM. H. WRIGHT.

